Asia

I don't like Asia but I really love their song heat of the moment.

OK then - what's the most Prog-sounding album that Asia have ever done?

I recall hearing the Asia debut album for the first time in 1982. I was immedately struck with the idea that Howe, Palmer, Wetton, et al, had purposefully mitigated their considerable musical virtuosity for the cynical purpose of constructing a series of MOR songs that would sell a lot of albums. To this day, I have heard nothing that would shake that conviction.


Edited by The Dark Elf - June 09 2013 at 20:34

Remember, Wetton had been working his ass off for so many years in bands like:

Wishbone Ash
Family
King Crimson
Roxy Music
Uriah Heep
U.K.

Can you really blame him for wanting to make some money? I sure as hell can't. I really think he's a progger at heart.

verslibre wrote: P.S. The last song on Astra, "After The War," is definitely one of the best Asia songs. It's overlooked because many people can't get all the way through Side B.

P.S. The last song on Astra, "After The War," is definitely one of the best Asia songs. It's overlooked because many people can't get all the way through Side B.

I knew prog-rock was going down the pipes from about 1975 onwards. However, when they put out Asia, that was the final nail in the coffin.

Edited by jude111 - May 13 2013 at 13:14

richardh wrote: Later albums? Well Alpha was a big let down. A few good songs but it was a lot less appealing than the debut. Howe and Wetton were apparently at odds with each other and Wetton decided to leave. A press announcement was made that Greg Lake was the replacement ( very ironic if you know your prog history) and was to play in the up coming world wide live broadcast (later released on VHS as Asia in Asia). Clearly Lake was very uncomfortable singing Wetton's parts and the management asked Wetton to return which in turn resulted in Howe leaving to be replaced by Mandy Meyer. The resulting album Astra was barely any improvement on Alpha , more standard issue AOR.

I'd wondered what the history was behind Mandy Meyer replacing Howe. Thanks for that.

I bought "Astra" when it came out, and immediately fell for the lead single, "Go".  It's a good tune.

I bought their debut album in 1982, purely on the strength of the cover art, and the fact that I recognised one of the band members on the back cover. (Carl Palmer- I hadn't got around to listening to Yes or KC at that time.) I instantly fell in love with the sound, and became a die-hard fan. For me, they were a gateway band, in that through researching the members, I became aware of all the other bands the members had played in. Some fans only stuck with the Wetton-era lineup, but I even loved the John Payne era stuff. Some of the music has flashes of prog brilliance, although much of it is mainstream AOR, but I love the stuff anyway, so sue me! I love melodic rock music that's well produced, has excellent musicianship, catchy tunes, and occasional flashes of prog, as well as true prog, so Asia fit the bill wonderfully for me. I got the chance to finally see them live in 2010 on the Omega tour, where I was blessed by possibly one of the best drum solos of Carl Palmer's career.

There are now two versions of the band- the 'original' Asia, which features Wetton, although Steve Howe has now left again to be replaced by Sam Coulson, and Asia Featuring John Payne, which has a twin-lead guitar sound that is just incredible. The 'original' band doesn't acknowledge any of the John Payne era stuff on their website (Although Geoff Downes is still quite proud of the work he did on that era) and don't play it live, but John Payne's band happily play anything from 1982 up to Silent Nation, plus their own new stuff.